One in Messiah Congregation
Shabbat Shalom
Nov. 22, 2008
We are now in the 8th month called Bool,
23th day - "Rain time"
Judaism calls this month Cheshvan or Marheshvan. This is not in the
Hebrew Scriptures.
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1 Kgs. 6 [38] And in the eleventh year, in the
month Bul (Bool), which is the eighth month, was the house finished
throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So
was he seven years in building it. (by Solomon)
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Scripture says:
Jer. 10 [2] Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed
at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
Jer. 16 [19] O LORD, my strength, and my
fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto
thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our
fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.
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Isa. 5 [20] Woe
unto them that call
evil good,
and good evil;
that put darkness for light,
and light for darkness;
that put bitter for sweet,
and sweet for bitter!
[21] Woe unto them that are wise in
their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
[22] Woe unto them that are mighty to drink
wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
[23] Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of
the righteous from him!
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My last two studies were about how the Holydays
and Feasts of the Lord were replaced by all the pagan feasts and traditions of
the world. So I thouight it appropriate to discuss some
"Pagan Feasts" in December.
Topic: Let's talk about pagan feasts in December
Saturnalia - In pagan Rome, the celebration of the Winter Solstice began on
December 17 with the feast of Saturn -- also called the Saturnalia. Through
December 23rd, the Roman world engaged in merrymaking and the exchanging of
gifts in honor of father sun and mother earth./font>
The Saturnalia festival has an astronomical
character, referring to the completion of the sun’s yearly course, and the
commencement of a new cycle. Saturn, from whom we get the word for the day of
the week, Saturday, represented by the sun at its lowest aspect at the winter
solstice. The earth is cold, most plants are dead, and it was believed that the
sun might also be approaching death. Today winter solstice is around December
21, but because of calendar changes, it was originally December 25th.
Saturnalia celebrated the sun overcoming the power of winter, with hope of
spring when life would be renewed.
In Roman times, Bacchus, the god of wine, became
the lord of these festivals.
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Kwanzaa -Ron Karenga (aka Dr. Maulana Ron Karenga)
invented the seven-day feast (Dec. 26-Jan. 1) in 1966, branding it a black alternative to
Christmas. The idea was to celebrate the end of what he considered the
Christmas-season exploitation of African Americans.
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The Feast of the Immaculate Conception - A Roman Catholic Holy Day of Obligation - December 8th.
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On Dec. 21, the Irish Cultural Center (ICC) will
host it’s annual Winter Solstice Party. There
will be live Celtic music, poetry, food and drinks. In keeping with the
traditions of Winter Solstice, there will also be a vigil fire ceremony.
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Winter Solstice is considered one of the oldest
holidays. Many of the traditions associated with
Christmas originated from those of Winter Solstice.
Winter Solstice takes place on Dec. 21 this year
and marks the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The literal
translation of the word solstice is "sun standing still", as they
say.
In ancient societies, agriculture was of great
importance. Consequently, the seasons were a big part of these societies'
celebrations. Spring and summer were considered times of new life, whereas fall
was the time of the Harvest.
Winter was a dreaded time due to the
lack of sunlight. Fearing the sun might never return, people honored it,
celebrating it with music, bonfires and feasts so that it would return the next
year.
The Romans celebrated the Solstice by decorating
the halls of their homes with branches of laurel and evergreen trees.
Exchanging of fruits, cakes, jewelry and toys were also very common.
Another made-up tradition that made its way into
that of Christmas was the hanging of mistletoe.
Mistletoe was considered precious because it grew
on the sacred oak trees. Thus, families were given a spray of mistletoe to hang
in their doorways for good luck.
To the Celtic Druids, hanging mistletoe under a
doorway or in a room was a sign of goodwill towards ones visitors. Kissing
someone under the mistletoe was also a Winter Solstice tradition. The thought
behind it was that it was a pledge of friendship.
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In other parts of the world, Winter Solstice was referred to as "Yule." This
was because Yule logs were burned and people drank, feasted and listened to
poetry around a bonfire.
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Another made-up December holiday is the Buddhist
holiday Jodo-E. On Dec. 31, the Haku-Un-Ji Zen
Center of Tempe will host a Jodo-E ceremony at 2 p.m. Jodo-E is considered a
"cleaning day," said Sokai Osho, a Zen Buddhist priest.
The ceremony will consist of cleaning the temple,
a dinner served in traditional Japanese form and meditation.
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Mithra
Mithras was the sun god of the Persians and
subsequent empires including the Roman Empire through the 4th century. During
the 4th century, Mithras "mysteriously" vanished and Roman
"Christianity" began. A Christianity not like that of the 1st
century; but, a polluted, corrupt "Christianity" lacking few Mithraic
rituals.
Mithras was invoked in the inscriptions of the
Biblical Artaxerxes, king of Babylon: making Mithras one of the pagan gods that
God had warned His chosen people to beware of. Christ had come and defeated
Satan by personally paying repentant man’s death penalty for the transgression
of God’s laws - the penalty He, Himself, had established at the time of
creation. And yet, in the 4th century, by way of a Satanic "if you can’t
beat em join em" deception, a blend of the worship of God and the worship
of pagan gods was officially proclaimed as "Christianity" by the
Roman Empire.
As the gospel spread throughout the nations; and
the persecution of true believers proved to be ineffective, Satan, the author
of confusion, began his final assault on the truth - the truth that "sin
is the transgression of the law" and that the penalty is death.
The celebrations including December 25th in honor
of the rebirth of Mithras at the winter solstice and Easter , the solar
observance of the spring equinox, attempted to void the 1st commandment in the
name of "Christianity".
The graven images of the pagan deities, given
"Christian" titles, attempted to void the 2nd commandment. And the
Sunday observance of "Deis Solis", the day of the sun attempted to
void the 4th commandment. Attempted only, for Christ had proclaimed "till
heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the
law."
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Christmas
The following is a quote from the Encyclopedia Brittanica, Volume 11 ; page 390.
"During the later periods of Roman history,
sun worship gained in importance and ultimately led to what has been called a
'solar monotheism.' Nearly all the gods of the period were possessed of Solar
qualities, and both Christ and Mithra acquired the traits of solar seities.
The feast of Sol and
Victus (open unconquered Sun) on December 25th was celebrated with
great joy, and eventually this date was taken over by the Christians as
Christmas, the birthday of Messiah." !!
The Christians were trying to get more converts
So they adapted a pagan holiday to their worship to appease the pagans in 336
AD.
The Encyclopedia Britannica reports
that "The traditional customs connected with
Christmas have developed from several sources as a result of the coincidence of
the celebration of the birth of Messiah with the pagan agricultural and solar
observations at midwinter. In the Roman world the Saturnalia (December 17) was
a time of merrymaking and exchange of gifts. December 25 was also regarded as
the birth date of the Iranian mystery god Mithra, the Sun of Righteousness."
Colliers Encyclopedia agrees. Quote: "After the triumph of Constantine, the church at Rome assigned
December 25 as the date for the celebration of the feast, possibly about A.D.
320 or 353. By the end of the fourth century the whole Christian world was
celebrating Christmas on that day, with the exception of the Eastern churches,
where it was celebrated on January 6. The choice of December 25 was probably
influenced by the fact that on this day the Romans celebrated the Mithraic
feast of the Sun-god (natalis solis invicti), and that the Saturnalia also came
at this time."
Both encyclopedias plainly reveal that the source
of the celebration of December 25 is the birthday of Mithra, the pagan sun god.
Sun worshippers since the time of Babel recognized this time of year
in honor of their gods.
1st century believers, taught personally by the Messiah, did not celebrate His birthday.
2nd century theologians condemned the thought. Only after severe persecution,
destruction and inaccessibility of biblical scripture and the blending of pagan
doctrine with the worship of God was the Mithraic celebration of December 25th
proclaimed to be "Christian" in nature.
These facts are well documented. They can be
found in any encyclopedia. There is no way to "Christianize" the
birthday of the sun god. Anyone with access to an computer or encyclopedia can
know better and those with theological degrees do!
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Hanukkah
The First Book of the Maccabees was written in
Hebrew around the time of the events that it describes. The Second Book of the
Maccabees was written about sixty years after the events that took place. The
book was written in Greek for the Jews who lived in Alexandria and other parts
of the Greek Empire. Both books discuss the same events, but from different perspectives.
These books were not included in the Hebrew Bible, but they are part of the
Apocrypha, a group of Jewish writing from this period that were preserved by the Christian Church. (Catholic)
Praying for the dead is a Catholic
belief.
2 Machabees 12 44 (For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should
rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for
the dead,)
2 Machabees 12 46 It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray
for the dead , that they may be loosed from sins.
2 Machabees 12 43 And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachms of
silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of
the dead , thinking well and religiously concerning the
resurrection, 44 (For if he had not hoped that they that were slain
should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the
dead,) 45 And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with
godliness, had great grace laid up for them. 46 It is therefore a holy
and wholesome thought to pray for the dead ,
that they may be loosed from sins .
You think Yeshua or Daniel quoted from
this book? Never!
Below in not Antiochus IV
Epiphanes ( he is not at the end ) When Alexander the Great's empire
broke up, it resolved into four major kingdoms. Seleucus was one of Alexander's
generals, and came to control the Syrian portion of the empire. Syria was one
of the two dominant divisions of the empire, and continued through twenty
kings. Antiochus IV was the eighth of these twenty Seleucid kings. He ruled from 175 - 164 BC.
Approximately 200
years afte Antiochus IV Epiphanes Yeshua said pertaining to the time of the end by quoting
Daniel which was approximately in 600 BC: ( ruler of the
Hellenistic Seleucid Empire )
Yeshua said:
Matt.24[ 15] When ye therefore shall see the abomination of
desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place,
(whoso readeth, let him understand:)
Mark.13[ 14] But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that
readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:
Dan.8 [1 ] In the
third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto
me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.
[2] And I saw in a vision; and it came to
pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province
of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.
[3] Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw,
and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the
two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up
last.
[4 ] I saw the ram pushing westward, and
northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was
there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will,
and became great.
[5] And as I was considering, behold, an
he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the
ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
[6] And he came to the ram that had two
horns, which I had there seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in
the fury of his power.
[7] And I saw him come close unto the ram,
and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two
horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him
down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver
the ram out of his hand.
[8]
Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn
was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of
heaven.
[9] And out of one of them came forth a
little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the
east, and toward the pleasant land.
[10] And it waxed great, even to the host of
heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and
stamped upon them.
[11] Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince
of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of
his sanctuary was cast down.
[12] And an host was given him against the daily
sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground;
and it practised, and prospered.
[13] Then I heard one saint speaking, and
another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the
vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to
give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
[14] And he said unto me, Unto two
thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
[15] And it came to pass, when I, even I
Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there
stood before me as the appearance of a man.
[16] And I heard a man's voice between the
banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the
vision.
[17] So he came near where I stood: and
when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me,
Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end
shall be the vision.
[18] Now as he was speaking with me, I was
in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me
upright.
[19 ] And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the
indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.
[20] The ram which thou sawest having two
horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
[21] And the rough goat is the king of
Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
[22] Now that being broken, whereas four
stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his
power.
[23] And in the
latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the
full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall
stand up.
[24] And his power shall be mighty, but
not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and
practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
[25] And through his policy also he shall
cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart,
and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of
princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
[26] And the vision of the evening and the
morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall
be for many days.
[27 ] And I Daniel fainted, and was sick
certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was
astonished at the vision, but none understood it.
Antiochus IV Epiphanes - 215-163 BC, he reigned 175-163
BC. He was not in the time of the end nor in
the last end of the indignation or in the latter
time.
The Feast of the Dedication mentioned below is not talking
about the story in the book of Maccabees
Scripture says:
John.10 [22] And it was at
Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it
was winter [23] And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.
Remember these points:
Chanukah in Hebrew means dedication pertaining to
the Temple
There is no Temple now to celebrate (destroyed in
70 AD )
Wrong month, should be Adar which is Feb. (Ezra
6:15 )
No 8 days of oil mentioned in the Maccabees
No 8 or 9 candlestick menorah in Scripture ( only
7 and very important )
Play Dreidel - A German Gambling Game? oh no...
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Chanukah is a Hebrew word meaning dedication.
In the scriptures above, pertaining to Chanukah
or dedication, John was talking about Solomon's temple
that Ezra help rebuild. (1 Kings 8:2; 2 Chr. 5:3) Also please read the
scriptures below in Ezra, chapter 6.
Ezra 6 : [14] And the elders of the Jews builded, and they
prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son
of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the
God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and
Artaxerxes king of Persia.
[15] And this house was finished on the third day
of the month Adar, the 12th month (our Feb. - cold -
not December which is Chislev, the 9th month in the Hebrew Bible ), which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.
[16] And the children of Israel, the priests, and
the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication
of this house of God with joy,
[17] And offered at the dedication of this house
of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin
offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes
of Israel.
Esth. 3 [7] In the first month, that is, the month Nisan, in the twelfth year
of king Ahasuerus, they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman from day to
day, and from month to month, to the twelfth month,
that is, the month Adar. ( Feb. not Dec. )
Chanukah is a Hebrew word meaning dedication
because this observance marks the rededication and building of the Temple after
it had been desecrated.
Also remember: The first dedication was in the 7th month, Ethanim, 1Kings.
8:2 ( Sept. - Oct.) not December:
1Kgs.8:[2] And all the men of Israel assembled
themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
Also, this is not new years as some falsely
report.
[63] And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace
offerings, which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an
hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel "dedicated" the house
of the LORD.
______________________________________________________________
There are many others.......... None are the "Feasts
of the Lord" in Lev. 23
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Let's talk about Thanksgiving, there are many different accounts.
The Pilgrims left Plymouth, England, on September 6, 1620 for the New World. Although filled
with uncertainty and peril, it offered both civil and religious liberty.
Arriving in Massachusetts in late November, the Pilgrims sought a suitable
landing place. 1621
The Pilgrims were a specific group of
Calvinist Christians.
After King Henry VIII separated the Church of
England from the rest of the Catholic Church, many English subjects were
dissatisfied with the king acting as the highest church authority.
Encouraged by the
Protestant Reformation in Germany, Holland, and
Switzerland, these dissatisfied subjects separated from the Church of
England in favor of a type of Christianity without a church hierarchy with the
Bible as the only authority (as they interpreted it).
Without a hierarchy, many
different interpretations of the Christian faith were practiced by various
separatist groups.
As a whole, these groups can also be called puritans.
One group, originally called the Leiden Congregation (because they left England and
lived in Leiden, Holland for several years), believed that they could not
successfully live with their beliefs among the English (and the English
authorities also pressured the government of Holland to remove them). This
group set out to live as a congregation in the new world.
They became known as the Pilgrims because they saw themselves as settlers in a promised land with a
promised future.
The Pilgrim Church no longer exists as a single
entity. They were a type of Calvinists and puritans.
Their religion is similar to today's Baptists, Congregationalists, and
Methodists.
Fast forward a bit in time...
In 1789, following a proclamation
issued by President George Washington, America celebrated its first Day of
Thanksgiving to God under its new constitution.
That same year, the Protestant Episcopal Church, of which President Washington
was a member, announced that the first Thursday in
November would become its regular day for giving thanks, "unless another
day be appointed by the civil authorities." Yet, despite these early
national proclamations, official Thanksgiving observances usually occurred only
at the State level.
Much of the credit for the adoption of
"of a later ANNUAL national Thanksgiving Day may be attributed to Mrs. Sarah
Joseph Hale, the editor of Godey's Lady's Book.
For thirty years, she promoted the idea of a
national Thanksgiving Day, contacting President after President until President Abraham Lincoln responded in 1863 by setting aside
the last Thursday of November as a national Day of Thanksgiving.
Over the next seventy-five years, Presidents
followed Lincoln's precedent, annually declaring a national Thanksgiving Day.
Then, in 1941, Congress
permanently established the fourth Thursday of each November as a national
holiday.
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The problen with this is today "ANYONE" does
Thanksgiving.
Whatever religion you have or do not have, family
get-togethers, drinking beer, eating turkey, eating your left over Halloween
punpkin (pumpkin pie) and watching football and the parade has replaced God.
Thank god? Which god?
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Sad to say, not many people celebrate or even
know about the "Feasts of the Lord".
The fall
Feast of the Lord is in the 7th month Ethanim not Tishri. (Sept.)
1Kgs.8 [2] And all
the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh
month.
These feasts and
holy convocations, we believe represent the Second Coming of the Messiah in
someone's lifetime.
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Fall Feast
of the Lord and Holy days
Blowing
of the Trumpets
Lev.23:[24] Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in
the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of
trumpets, an holy convocation.
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Day of
Atonement
[27] Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of
atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your
souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
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Feast of
Tabernacles
[34] Speak unto the children of Israel, saying,
The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for
seven days unto the LORD.
[39] Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh
month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast
unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the
eighth day shall be a sabbath.
[41] And ye shall
keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for
ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.
[37] These are the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall
proclaim to be holy convocations
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Two questions come to mind:
Did you learn the way of
the heathen?
Did you ever say, "Surely
our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit?
Jer. 10 [2] Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed
at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
Jer. 16 [19] O LORD, my strength, and my
fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles
shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein
there is no profit.
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Matt.15[ 3]Yeshua said:....... Why do ye also transgress the
commandment of God by your tradition?
[6] ... Thus have ye made the
commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
Mark.7[ 13] Making the word of God of none effect through your
tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.
[9] And he said unto them, Full well ye reject
the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
Col.2[ 8] Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit,
after the tradition of men , after the rudiments of the world, and not
after Christ.
1Pet.1[ 18] Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with
corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain
conversation received by tradition from your fathers ;[19 ]
But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot:
[20] Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but
was manifest in these last times for you,
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It is high time to "wake up"
Rom.13 [11] And that, knowing the time, that now
it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now
is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
[12] The night is far spent, the day is at hand:
let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour
of light.
[13] Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in
rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and
envying.
[14] But put ye on the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, and make not provision
for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Shalom